Freshly Made Sketch #53 Entry #2

If you haven't seen my previous post this week's Freshly Made Sketch #53 is here:

 

 

Card #2 is 6" square. The alternating stripes are from the Zip Strip of the Clementine pack and strips from the Florentine paper pack. The stripes were placed on a Creme Brulee background over black CS. The bottom layer is Clementine paper. Black Baker's Twine was placed under the black 3" circle. the greeting is Happy Birthday from 4 My Friend.



The circles were cut from CTMH Cricut Artiste cartridge and the greeting was embossed with Black embossing powder.

I can't decide which one I like better. Which one do you like better? Thanks for taking the time to look at my blog post!
Happy Creating!
:) Marie

Freshly Made Sketch #53 Entry #1

When I first saw this sketch from Freshly Made Sketches I didn't really like it, but I have to admit that it has really grown on me--so much so that I decided to try 2 different cards with it.  All materials are Close To My Heart except the cuttlebug embossing folder "Divine Swirls" in card #1.

Here is the sketch:

 

 

 

Card #1 is 5.5" square.  It uses 1/2" strips of CTMH rainbow colors: Cranberry, Sunset, Honey, Topiary, Pacifica, Gypsy and Pansy Purple cardstocks over a White Daisy base which was embossed with the above mentioned cuttlebug folder.  To pop it up a bit it was placed on black cardstock.  The Thanks greeting was embossed with with black embossing powder.  Since the swirls around the word Thanks look almost circular I did not place it on a circle as in the sketch.

 

 

 

 

Starburst Card for Friday Mashup

Two posts in one day!  How did that happen?  I wanted to try this Starburst Technique to enter the Friday Mashup Challenge and the deadline was 2 hours away so I had to do it today.  I used Miracle papers (retired CTMH), Silver Embossing Powder, Versamark Ink, Silver Shimmer Trim, Twilight CS and A1125 Thanks--all from Close To My Heart.  I found the directions to make this card here.

 

Please excuse the flash photography--it was dark outside when I got the inspiration to make this card and I wanted to post it right away.  I will be approaching my 100th post in a few weeks and would welcome suggestions on how to commemorate it on my blog.  I would love to read your comments.....

 

Happy creating!

:) Marie

All White Except a Stamped Image!

My Time to Craft's challenge this week is to make an all white card except for the image.  This idea really appealed to me so I cut many layers with my CTMH Artiste cricut cartridge. I used the Card function from page 63 to cut the flourished square at 2", 2.5", 3.0" and the negative piece that was cut at 3.5".  The featured stamp is from the new Casual Expressions Occasions set--a very versatile set!  (Most of the stamps in this set have a corresponding cricut Artiste cut.)  I first put my stamp in Versamark ink and then into Crystal Blue ink and then sprinkled clear embossing powder and heat set to give it a shiny appearance.  I also used a stylus to score the paper at 1/2" and 5/8" from each edge.  The top two layers are popped up with 3D mounting tape.  This is my first time entering this challenge and using the new Artiste cartridge made it so easy and fun to do! 

 

 

Thanks for visiting my blog today--what do you think of my new self made blog button (top right side)? Feel free to copy the code and put it on your blog to easily find me again.
Happy Creating!
:) Marie

Freshly Made Sketches 1st Anniversary Choice and Heart2Heart Challenge Go Big!

Congratulations to Freshly Made Sketches for providing inspiration for us for a full year!  I only recently started playing along and I really enjoy their clean sketches.  I'm also entering this card into the Heart2Heart challenge to make a card bigger than A2 size. My card is 5 x 6.5 which made it easier to showcase Close To My Heart's new Rosette Ribbon.  The papers are from CTMH--Lucy patterned paper and Grey Wool CS (both recently retired).  The greeting is from a very versatile new stamp set called Casual Expressions.  Although it may be difficult to see in this picture the greeting I chose says "You're Appreciated". I used Cotton Candy and Topiary markers to color in the accents on either side of the greeting.

Here is the card:

Here is the Freshly Made Sketch #18:

 

Thanks for stopping by to check out my artwork.  Feel free to leave a comment--they always make me smile!

Freshly Made Sketch #51 Numbered Birthday Card

I am really enjoying Freshly Made Sketches designs because  I like the clean lines and simplicity of them.  When I need to make a special card (like the one below) they are easy to follow.  Kudos to their designers!  This card uses all Close To My Heart products: Pemberly paper, Sunset CS, Honey and White Daisy.  Since we are allowed to use any shape for the focal element I wanted to embellish it by using a fancy cricut cut from the new CTMH Artiste collection.  This is a 5" by 6.5" card. The medallion was found on page 42 of the Artiste handbook--letter W accent 4 cut at 3.25".  The Sunset base is 3.5".  The numbers and Honey circle were cut at 1.75".  I applied Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel. and Durable Studs as the final accents.  This card came together very quickly and I love how it turned out! 

My card:

The sketch:

Color Dare #14-- Outdoor Denim, Indian Corn Blue and Crystal Blue

The challenge at Color My Heart Color Dare this week is to make a card (or other paper project) using the Close To My Heart colors of  Outdoor Denim, Indian Corn Blue and Crystal Blue.  I have to say that I struggled with this one for a while.  I like how the first 2 colors look together but I was have trouble  adding Crystal Blue to them comfortably until I remembered the striped pattern from the Miracle papers.  The greeting is from "A Little Thanks".  Here is what I came up with:

 

The bow was cut from the new CTMH Artiste cartridge--page 55 Accent #3 cut at 1".  I'm glad that I finally got to try this little cute paper bow which was so easy to cut and assemble.  Thanks for stopping by!  I wonder what wonderful colors Sarah will have for us to play with next week?!  Please consider playing along in this color challenge.

Clean and Simple Stamping FTL205 with Baroque Borders

When I saw this sketch I knew that I wanted to use one of the corner stamps from Close To My Heart's August Stamp of the Month called Baroque Borders.  I used Twilight as the base, Outdoor Denim as the middle layer and Sweet Leaf as the top layer.  The corner stamp was stamped with Twilight ink and the greeting was stamped in Outdoor Denim.  I really like how these colors work together.  The greeting is from D1476 Card Chatter--Sympathy which is a very versatile set of 15 greetings.

My card:

 

The sketch:

 

I'm still seeking 2 more players to receive a free handmade gift by me.  Check out the details here. Thanks for stopping by!

Freshly Made Sketch #50 and Cas-ual Fridays 67--Use a Banner

Here is a birthday card made with holiday paper! It is new CTMH Pear and Partridge with Desert Sand and Cranberry CS.  (The green stripe is the reverse side of the patterned paper).  It was made using the Freshly Made Sketch #50 rotated 90 degrees.  Cas-ual Fridays 67 challenge is to use a banner or flag.  It was easy to cut this flag using the new CTMH Artiste cricut cartridge which comes with 3 coordinating stamp sets! I am having so much fun making cards and 3D items with this new cartridge!  The flag is popped up with mounting tape. and I used Stardust Glitter Gel on the red/pink elements on the patterned paper and the top of the flag to add some sparkle.  I really like how it turned out and hope you do too!

 My card:

 

 The sketch:

Thanks for stopping by and thanks to all the artists who provide these wonderful challenges!

Pay it Forward!

As I was being inspired by artwork on blogs I came upon a post by Carol Labuski at Scramping with Carol describing this challenge. This challenge applies to the first 3 people to post a comment on her "Pay it Forward" blog post. As I was one of the first three to comment on her blog post Carol has promised to send me something home made sometime in the coming year! I don't know what or when as it will be a surprise! For me the most fun is that I will get to offer the same challenge for others. I don't want to miss any of the details so I've copied the guidelines from her post here.

I will send a surprise gift to the first 3 people to comment on this post. This gift will be made by me and I will send it sometime within the next year. Exactly when you will receive it will be a surprise!

Of course there are some rules in this game and here they are:

1. I will make a little something for the first 3 people who comment on this post. It will be a surprise and may arrive at any time in the next 365 days (yes, a year).
2. To sign up to receive a gift from me you must play along, too. Share the giving love on your blog by promising to send a handmade goodie to the first 3 people who comment on your blog post.
3. You MUST have a blog.
4. After commenting on my post, you have to post this (or similar) on your blog to spread the love. If you haven’t posted in 48 hours then the next commenter will be chosen. If you want to join in just comment below and if you’re one of the first 3 I’ll send you something before the end of August next year! Can’t wait to hear from you!

Please leave your email address so I can contact you if you are one of the lucky three for address details.  Enjoy the artwork I've posted on this blog while you are here. Thanks for playing along!
:) Marie

Freshly Made Sketch #49 and Color Dare #13

It's good to be back home and happily crafting again--although vacations are wonderful too!. I'm entering this card in these two challenges: Freshly Made Sketch #49 and Color My Heart Color Dare #13 which uses the Close To My Heart colors Twilight, Sorbet and Creme Brulee. Here is the sketch:

Here is my card:

I used the prescribed CTMH colors. The small flowers are from the Florentine paper pack. To make the flower centers, I used a regular hole punch to make the centers from Creme Brulee CS and then applied Stardust Glitz Glitter Gel. The greeting was stamped in Versamark and then Cocoa ink and then clear embossed and is from B1398 Just for You. Thanks for stopping by! :)

Freshly Made Sketch #47 and Color My Heart Dare #11

Happy Birthday to nephew Brendan! I followed the sketch that I found here for this card using the colors from here. The Color My Heart Dare #11 is to use any or all of these exclusive Close To My Heart colors: Ruby, Goldrush, Honey, Sweet Leaf, Indian Corn Blue and Cocoa. This card uses all of them except Sweet Leaf or Cocoa. I also used my new CTMH Cricut Artiste cartridge to cut the numbers, gear shaped label and banner that matches the Hip-Hip-Hooray stamp that comes in this collection. A little bit of stardust glitter gel was applied to the gear label and numbers. I enjoyed working with this sketch:

Here is my card:

I really like how nicely these colors have come together--especially the Ruby and Indian Corn Blue colors. Thanks to the talented ladies that sponsor these challenges and for stopping by to look at my artwork.

Scraps Challenge at Heart2Heart

It's been a while since I have posted artwork at Heart2heart challenges (featuring Close To My Heart products). I save all of my crafting materials so I was up for this "Scraps" challenge this week. It is to make something using scraps--I have lots of these! I used CTMH Roxie paper (newly retired), Husk Naturals paper (retired a long time ago), Universal Backgrounds stamps, Say it With Style stamps, Cocoa ink and Cocoa marker (newly retired). I used the Art Philosophy cartridge to make 1/2" corners with Ruby CS to cover up a tear in the frame that I used. I used the Cocoa marker to give the rose which was already printed on the paper a little more definition. Here are the scraps I started with:

This is the completed card:

Thanks for visiting my blog!

Got Ruby? and Color Dare Challenge #10

As the winner of Week #8 of the Color Dare Challenge I was invited to be this week's guest designer--what an honor! I spent many hours today coming up with these cards which feature the new Close To My Heart color Ruby. For this challenge we are also allowed to use neutral colors. I couldn't decide which card to submit to Sarah so I'll be surprised by what she selects. Here are the cards I created using Ruby ink or cardstock. Card #1 uses stamps from these sets: Salutation Seals, Hooray Bouquet and Love Life. The Ruby CS was put through the Cuttlebug with the Swiss Dots folder. The centers of the flowers were glitzed with Stardust Glitter Gel. Color Ready Seam Binding is the stripe between the white embossed greeting and a square of black CS. The edges of the card were distressed with Ruby Ink and a 1" foam brush.

Card #2 uses the Happy Birthday stamp from 4 My Friend and a swirl stamp from Love Life, a square of Black CS and Kraft CS. I used "Square 5" from the Art Philosophy Cricut Cartridge to cut the Kraft CS before stamping the greeting. I used a small swirl stamp from Love Life to stamp the background of the card base. The white stripe was embossed with swiss dots cuttlebug folder and then I rubbed the Ruby Ink pad over it for the red color. A small bow made with Color Ready Seam Binding Ribbon adorns the top left corner.

Card #3 uses a greeting from Christmas Love and the poinsettia flower from the Art Philosophy stamp collection. The flower was white embossed. I adapted this card from a design called "Locket" in the Card Confidence Originals book which recently retired. A small strip of Cocoa CS is behind the greeting.

Card #4 was cut with the Art Philosophy cartridge "card shift" on page 65 and the white label was cut at 2.25" from "decorative layer shift" also from page 65. A strip of construction wall tape was placed on the card base to add some texture. The greeting is from Card Chatter-Sympathy. There is a strip of Black CS which is embellished with Grey Wool twine from the Bakers' Twine Neutral Assortment. Licorice Adhesive gems embellish the cut out flowers. A strip of White Daisy CS was placed behind the card front so you can see the pretty flowers that Art Philosophy cricut cut.

Card #5 uses the rose from Card Word Puzzle, the leaves from Harvest Happiness and the sympathy greeting from 4 My Friend. The leaves were stamped in Topiary and the rose was colored by rubbing a paintbrush with ruby ink and then rubbing it onto the rose. The scalloped cork element is from Evergreen Cork Shapes. The black and white patterned paper is from the inside of a security envelope!

Thanks for stopping by to check out my artwork! If you've been inspired please take the time to leave a comment. :)

Color Dare #9 - Creme Brulee & Petal

Goodbye Petal! It is August 1 and you have been officially retired from Close To My Heart color family. Sarah made sure to get you involved in this week's color challenge before you left. Thanks to Sarah also for selecting my card as the WINNER for last week's challenge--what a nice surprise that was! I'm entering this card into the Color My Heart Color Dare challenge which can be found here. I used the following items to make this card: Petal CS, Florentine paper, A Blossom, construction wall tape, prisma glitter and silver glitter gel, Black Ink and 3D Foam Tape. Hope you like it! (I didn't see the challenge to use a Freshly Made Sketches for extra credit until I had this card made--maybe I'll have to enter this challenge twice.)